Hockey Ad Network

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) announced today that Dave Allison has been named head coach of the club for the 2009-10 season.

"The Des Moines Buccaneers have a long history of great coaches such as Bob Ferguson and Regg Simon," said Allison. "I'm excited to have this opportunity."

Allison has spent 15 seasons as a head coach in both professional and junior hockey. Buccaneers fans will be familiar with the coach as he spent three seasons (2005-08) as the head coach of the Des Moines-based Iowa Stars in the American Hockey League (AHL). Allison guided the Stars to a 118-102-20 record and two playoff appearances. He has also had coaching stints in the IHL, ECHL, UHL, and OHL in addition to being the head coach of the Ottawa Senators for part of the 1995-96 season.

Allison has made Des Moines his home for the past five years. This past season, he served in a scouting role for the Colorado Avalanche. Allison has made contributions to the Buccaneers organization in recent weeks assisting the coaching staff with the USHL Futures Draft and Entry Draft in addition to taking part in the team's summer tryout camps.

"At the end of the day it's a great fit for me and my family," said Allison. "We couldn't be happier. Buccaneers' hockey has been in the fabric of this community for a long time. This arena has always been a fun place for the fans and we want to continue that while making it a difficult place for our opponents."

As a player, Allison enjoyed a 10-year professional career in the AHL, IHL, and a stint in the NHL. The defenseman was signed by the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent in 1979. He spent six seasons with their farm club in Nova Scotia and played three games with the Canadiens during the 1983-84 season.

J.P. Parise, who coached the Buccaneers during the 2008-09 season, will remain the general manager of the club while also adding the role of Director of Hockey Operations.

"Dave is a proven winner," said Parise. "He comes to us with a great deal of experience and energy. I've watched him coach and I see the positive impact he is having on these players. We're extremely fortunate to have him as our head coach."

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)